cookma423 Member

A little over 2 years ago. I got invited for a physical test to my local police department as part of the hiring process. I failed. Miserably. I had always been a active, athletic guy, so failing a physical test was humiliating. Started changing the next day. Now I'm about 50 lbs lighter, and I absolutely love the active…

@magster4isu One of my issues in life is that I forget to return to the things I posted haha. Glad I remembered before being rude this time! The Bloody Mary chicken was absolutely wonderful! That was gone so fast! I didn't get the chance to do much more than that in the slow cooker, but I have all the ingredients to try…

I love pulled pork! Always brings back fun memories of my dad doing a whole roast with just basic seasoning. We'd use it for everything!! I love it. @Libmatos I am definitely not a low-carb person haha. Rice is one of those staple things that I am never without in my kitchen. Your stew idea sounds good! I'm going to try…

You are all far too kind! The recipes (and ideas @hesn92) are making me hungry already! Gonna be a fun weekend :D

Gotta love the age of the internet: why attempt even some virtual interaction when you can just use a search bar? I'm not actually being mean, I promise. Just poking fun :) I know that threads in forums become repeats and there's a lot of good information already here, but by asking the question I also got some small…

Me too! Plus it's not labor-intensive. Get it together, let it sit all day. Can't ask for much more! Haha. And @magster4isu you rock! Coincidentally, I was planning on making some red beans and rice with shredded chicken over the weekend as well! I'll use your idea to cook the chicken ahead of time! Do you think it would…

That looks great! I'll check it out thoroughly this afternoon. Thanks!

I was just talking to a guy in my local cycling shop about mine yesterday. I absolutely LOVE my Bose Soundsport headphones. Bluetooth, comfortable. I've never had any issue with them falling out, and I sweat heavy on the easiest of workouts. The sound is awesome. I've had them for about a year-ish now. Great set. Good…

Ah, yeah. I never run with music, so I didn't even think of that! Being able to put podcasts on the watch would make long runs much more entertaining, though! I agree that Garmin isn't a scale company, you're absolutely right. But when I bought it, I figured that the rest of my stuff was Garmin and the reviews were solid…

I've been happy with it. It measures body fat percentage, body water content, BMI, among other things (not trying to be a salesperson here, truly). Some of the really tech-y reviews I've read (you can check out DC Rainmaker's here; he's my favorite fitness tech blogger) say that the numbers can be off by as much 5-10% (if…

As a male, this article was eye-opening when I first read it. I don't agree with catcalling as a practice, but @vegaslounge those little victories are just so sweet. I remember about a year ago when I was working my last job. I ran into an former coworker ("Dave") who had switched companies. "Dave" started chatting with my…

I have Garmin... well... everything haha. I have 2 Garmin watches, the scale, hiking GPS unit.... I know I'm missing one or two things haha. I swear by Garmin. As a company, they have never been anything but great to me. Just a weird quirky type thing. I'll keep an eye on it

I liked this picture. Taken in Sequoia National Forest last summer on a project. Favorite parts of my life in one photo: being outside with my dog

haha! That last line... Brought back memories of a stranger who told me to quit one time. Almost verbatim what I told him. I've had some people get upset with an opinion or two I've shared here, so I try to make ensure that I make it clear that I'm only trying to be helpful. I know I tried to quit a fail several times…

I started running before I quit smoking (I smoked for over 8 years). Quitting smoking, in and of itself, isn't going to make you gain weight. You just have to make sure to keep an eye on your calorie intake and keep exercising rather than reaching for a pack of cigarettes. I quit about a year and a half ago after a few…

I've never been personally receptive to the flu; just doesn't make me sick generally. But I read about being a potential carrier while I was working with a gentleman who was undergoing chemo. Started getting them then. I don't get them consistently anymore, but that was an eye-opener at that time

Opinion, though: I think you'd be better off tracking your activities/exercise on an app like Garmin or Strava then linking the data to MFP. I have never been very happy with MFP's exercise tracking

Definitely check with your doc and/or physical therapist. But when I was recovering from knee surgeries, I'd use the elliptical, the stationary bike, and swim. Those seemed to work well for me.

Agreed. I'd say at the start, don't worry too much about making changes to your diet. Start by tracking the calories (be brutally honest with yourself as you do it) and after only a few weeks you'll start to notice where you can make changes to reduce caloric intake. At least, that's what I did and what worked for me

I look at food this way: there's good-for-the-waistline foods, then there's good-for-the-soul foods. You have to have both. As long as you keep track of what you're eating and keep a general net negative calorie intake, one meal is not going to derail your progress. Hell, when I was training and working a lot over summer,…

As far as I've found in my (pitiful) running career. long runs (whether they are 20mins straight or 20 miles) always involve a slower pace than the intervals. The long run is all relative depending upon your current ability. I'd definitely agree that you should slow down and try to hit the time goal, mainly because part of…

I've been perusing this post over several pages. First and foremost, I'm in agreement that this guy is no good from what I've read. While *ahem* "unpleasant", it's best to get out. You are 16; this is not the last relationship you'll ever have, nor will it be the best. Find someone better. Or don't even worry that much…

like @Briantime, I use the Garmin Vivoactive (though mine has the HR built-in). I absolutely love it, and I have had better luck, reliability, and resiliency with my Garmins than Fitbit. I will say that I like the FitBit app better though; seemed easier, more of my friends were on it, and it seemed to give metrics that…

@tiny_clanger the transition was easy. I rented a tri wetsuit from my local running store and it was easy to take off. I watched a friend of mine do a tri a few weeks ago, and one of the volunteers was nice enough to help the swimmers walking toward the transition area. Out of all the things I'd worry about regarding a…

Thank you! Really. I'm not sure yet; there aren't really any more tri's around my area this year, so I'm probably SOL on that until next spring. There's a 5k in November that I'll probably do, but nothing too major. I think I'm kinda done with the racing for the season. Kudos on the ST: Voyager reference, by the way

I hope to keep my entire racing career (running, cycling, and tri) going until I'm that age and beyond! I've met so many good people through running and cycling that it has really turned into a passion; I get withdrawals if I go too long without a ride or run

@Joanna2012B I disagree; there were people of all ages at this one. If you want to do it, find a local pool and swim some laps. A sprint tri has a .5 mile swim; that's 18 laps in a pool. If you already bike and run, you can get that down pretty quick. I'd say if it's something you want to do, give it a try (pun not really…

That was definitely me for this one! I was camping out and couldn't sleep hardly at all until around 2am. Up 4 hours later and going. All worth it though. There will definitely be more in the future!

Those two things.... can't emphasize enough. This is one of the best communities of which I am a part, and I love it on here. There are no people more supportive, understanding, insightful, and encouraging. For my two cents on it: I would say that you made a great step here. But start small. I know personally, every time I…